Welcome to Day 34 of our 40 Day Retreat 2008.
We have been speaking on the subject of the Guru-disciple relationship or Teacher-student relationship. Yesterday we spoke about Guru Bhakti and what it means. We said that it is a heart-centred relationship between student and teacher. It is a very natural relationship of respect, adoration, love and the desire to learn and grow, and to share and guide. This is what is in the relationship. I said that today I will continue to speak on this because we can go more into the subject.
Root of Meditation is the Guru’s Form
Today I will bring another verse from Guru Gita that is considered to be a favourite verse amongst those who are on the Path of Guru, also called Guru Marg. Let us listen to what Guru Gita has to say:
Dhyaana moolam guror moortih
Pooja moolam guroh padam
Mantra moolam guror vaakyam
Mukti/moksha moolam guroh kripaa
The root of meditation is the Guru’s form
The root of worship is the Guru’s feet
The root of mantra is the Guru’s word
The root of liberation is the Guru’s grace
It says that the root of meditation is the Guru’s form, referred to here as Murthi
And the root of adoration is the Guru’s feet. But here the Guru’s feet is symbolic of what the Guru stands on. It is like the pillar supporting the Guru. So Guru Gita also offers more explanation into that, which we will speak about at another time.
The verse talks about mantra – those powerful words that we learn on the spiritual path, that help to protect and liberate the mind. It says the root of mantra is the Guru’s speech, the guidance given by the Guru in words.
It also says that the root of liberation is when the grace unfolds from Guru. And of course we need to understand what Guru is, that we may understand what this line means by “Guru’s grace”.
I will go into more detail in this verse over the next couple days so that we can get a clearer picture, because there is a lot for contemplation in there on the subject of Guru Bhakti.
Today, let us take the line “Dhyaana moolam guror moortih” which says that the root of meditation is the Guru’s form.
Yesterday and other previous days, I spoke about the subject of communication and energetics involved in communication. If I may go back to some of the earlier verses that we contemplated, Shiva, the Teacher in the Guru Gita, is explaining that the body is not just a mere body. He says Pindam kundalinee shakti, that in the body there is more than we see. And he says padam is hamsa, and padam he related to the breath of life that makes us a sentient or feeling being. He says roopam is the bindu that is pierced, and the bindu point is in eyebrow chakra.
Holistic concept of Being
Shiva was also telling us that the body is so much more, and this gives us the idea of the holistic identity of being. When we think of ourselves and the Guru, we need to understand the holistic concept of being. We need to really understand deeply that a human being has several layers of identity.
Physical identity…
In the physical identity we wear this garb of flesh or earthly body. If you wear a particular suit of clothes, it can give you an identity, whether it a casual wear or business wear, or sacred wear. It gives you a certain kind of identity. Similarly, when you wear a physical body it gives you a certain kind of identity. You have a physical identity.
Energy identity…
Inside of this physical body, however, as the Cosmic Teacher said, is an energy identity and he called that Kundalini. So this energy field that is called Kundalini is an identity that exists within you, and we need to become aware of this identity. You don’t only have a flesh body or physical identity. You have an energy identity that we need to identity, to understand, appreciate and use. That energy body identity relates to thoughts, emotions, intentions. These don’t just come from the physical. We see their expressions in the physical. But thoughts and feelings and intentions come from a deeper space. Their genesis or origin is deeper than just the physical. They manifest in the physical. We need to be able to appreciate, understand and feel that.
True Gurus are aware of that identity, so when you look at them as just physical beings, they will never be able to understand that. Neither do they treat you as physical beings because they have powerful identity energies.
Core identity
Within the energy body there is another identity and that is your core identity. There is a source of infinite power within you that is also part of your identity. So as you go into the energy body and you begin to use thoughts and feelings, ultimately as you go deeper within self-awareness, you will become aware that there is a source of infinite power inside of you that is also part of your identity, because that is where immortality lies: agelessness, no limits, infinity.
From physical to energy Body - an illustration
This may not be completely in your understanding at this moment because you may have to first contemplate: What does he really mean by saying that I have an infinite source inside of me? What does he mean by saying I have an energy body? For those of you who are really into physical consciousness, it becomes even more difficult to understand this. Unless you have some kind of energy experience, you would not be able to understand. However, if you can begin to appreciate then you can begin to experience something so much greater inside of you.
The picture…
I will take a simple example to explain what I mean, that you may become a little more familiar with the concept of the idea. If someone gives you a picture of a person and tells you that you need to develop a relationship with the person. It is important, whatever the reason might be: friendship, business, or social work. So you take the picture and you say that it is important to have a relationship with this person. You study the picture.
You are not going to gain much as you study the picture as you say, “Oh, I like that face or I don’t like it. This person does not smile.” You may begin to create some sort of impression of the person which will be based on whoever resembles this person that you know. Depending on how they are, you may begin to bring those qualities on to the picture that you see. We human beings love to make judgments quickly thinking, this person is like this or that based on how they look.
The meeting…
When you do meet that person whose picture you only saw before, and you begin to speak with that person, you are now coming into the person’s energy presence. First you may feel peace or love, or even resistance. You may feel a number of things. That is the energy body that you are relating to, as apart from the picture.
Energy interaction…
Another aspect of this can be: a person sitting somewhere. You want to talk with this person but you begin now to think, “I wonder what kind of person this is?” You just looked at the appearance of the person, but now you need to talk with this person. It can be someone you need to meet, and you are waiting for the meeting. Only when you meet the person and you begin to interact and to share thoughts, feelings and ideas that a different kind of relationship comes. What is happening there? It is energy bodies now in interaction, and that is going to determine what kind of relationship you begin to create. Do I feel free in speaking here? Can I trust this person? Do I like the thoughts and ideas of this person? A number of things are going to happen in that relationship. It is all based on the energy that we feel from the person.
Deeper relationship…
As we begin to create some kind of kindred, amicable or friendly relationship, we go deeper into the person, because now there is more sharing, and opening up of barriers. We begin to feel a deeper relationship with the person. It means the energy bodies are now coming together harmonizing very nicely. And if the person has no limit to their ideas and their energy expressions of love and peace, then we find that we are being taken into a space that is ever expanding. We may fear that or we may enjoy that, and we are being lead energetically into a deep space.
Communication beyond Words
Finally, if we are both compatible and we can both go deeper inside there can be a time when we don’t need words or ideas. We can sit and look at each other and there is such deep communion. We have begun to touch a deeper space beyond words and thoughts. Our identity now begins to merge in a kind of oneness, and that allows for the most powerful relationships. They go beyond thinking, beyond thoughts. Those are the relationships that last and empower.
It all started from a look at the person’s physical, and then getting deeper and deeper. Only the holistic being can allow us that depth of communication. When we communicate without an understanding of this we never maximize the potential of human communication. If we understand the dynamics of this, then we can explore between each other and go to deeper and deeper depths. That is exciting!
That is what I do when I communicate with people. I try to push the barriers, to open the mind and to go deeper inside. I try to lift and to take them beyond limitation and it is exciting for me.
Cultivating a deeper identity with Parama Guru
This brings us back to the verse: Dhyaana moolam guror moortih. It begins with the form of the Guru because in that form, as Shiva says, there is Kundalini Shakti. There is hamsa and there is a space beyond bindu in there. And as we begin to develop Guru Bhakti or love, adoration or respect for this person, we are able to go deeper into the person’s identities. We may see the Guru in the beginning and think, “Oh, I like this person. His presence is very nice. I want to know this person some more.” So we begin to read the books, and to know more about the thoughts, words and actions of the person.
Then when we are happy with that, we want to know the person more, so we may get a chance to talk with the person. When the person’s attention is directed upon us, we begin to interact a little more with the energy field. And when it is the Parama Guru, or one of those higher spiritual Gurus, or even if it is a powerful disciple, they take us into a deeper space.
If we are those who want to open up ourselves and we want to learn, then they become like a wish-fulfilling tree for us. They take us deeper into places that we want to go. If they represent unconditional love or learning, new ideas, limitless ideas then we welcome that kind of interaction and energy. So when we come into the aura of the Guru, we are so pleased because it is taking us deeper. We are going into a deeper relationship with the Guru, or into a place of deeper identity of Guru and us.
Challenged to go still deeper
Ultimately, because the Parama Guru is established in the deepest place inside, in that limitless source of Being, we are also challenged in that relationship to go deeper. Our ideas are now going to be challenged; our limitations are going to be challenged; and in that relationship if we really desire to go forward and we create the right relationship with the Guru, we can go deeper and deeper into that identity that exists inside of him. That is where Guru Tattwa is. We are going into Guru Tattwa, the depth of Guru Consciousness.
This line in this verse Dhyaana moolam guror moortih tells us that when we begin to meditate, go into the identities of the Guru. Try to connect with them and obviously we need to try with the first, so we start thinking of the Guru and that will bring us into deeper relationship with the different identities with the Guru and take us into our deeper identities within us. And this is magical!
Transforming power of the Guru
This is what I did. I did not meet this person at the beginning but I loved to look at the picture of this person. Somehow I feel that those eyes drew me to a place inside. I loved to look at the eyes of this being. And magically somehow it held my attention and my love. I could feel love, inner power, peace and I loved that.
Then because of the strong awakening of my own inner energies due to the presence of this being, I started to develop an energy relationship with this being even though I did not physically meet that being. I began to develop an energy relationship that was extremely powerful. When I met him two years after, that continued. I could feel the beauty of the presence. It met and exceeded all my expectations of the physical presence. It took me deeper within myself. It showed me possibilities. Ultimately I came into a deeper relationship with him inside of me.
I am who I am- the essence of Life
The Dhyaana moolam guror moortih took me deep inside my own being to find a deeper communication with him, which ultimately I did, and it took me into my own freedom, into my own space of liberation which also gave me my own identity. I don’t have to be anybody else. I don’t even have to be my teacher. I am who I am. Which is the essence of life, which is what he is as well, and which is what every Parama Guru is.
If we think about this statement Dhyaana moolam guror moortih and go beyond looking at the physical, then limitless possibilities are there in terms of communication, in terms of meditation, which means heightening of the consciousness, and in terms of our own personal freedom.
I leave you with this line of the verse that you may contemplate it. Tomorrow we will deal with the next line. We will go into the secret of that line and what is really means. What does it hold for us.
